My daily coffee/tea (sugar vs splenda war)
NikkiDerrig386
Posts: 1,096 Member
For years I used Splenda. I used it way too much. I mean I used it in coffee, tea, plain yogurt, plain oatmeal, etc. I used it that much to cut calories. Well about 3/4 months ago I stopped using it. When I stopped I got sever migraines and was miserable. I stopped because it is not good for you. Many studies done on rats show that splenda use caused very aggressive cancers in them. So I switched to good ol fashion sugar. I would use a mixture of raw sugar and table sugar. I like my stuff very sweet so I trained my palate to use only 2 teaspoons. Well now after the holidays I am cracking down again and want to cut calories. I like my black tea with fat free cream and sweetened. Thats what I wake up with and I want to give myself at least that while I am dieting. I was trying to be healthy today and used honey instead. I used 1 tablespoon. It was more calories!!! It was a waste bc it wasn't even as sweet as the sugar ad it was less calories. What do you use in your coffee or tea?
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Replies
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Use what you think tastes the best in your coffee or tea.
Sugar is a carb.
We are not rats, we are humans.0 -
I learned to wean myself off of adding sweeteners. I don't miss it anymore, I can even drink an espresso straight up.0
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Those studies you refer to were:
A) in rats, so not terribly relevant to humans (rats and mice are used as models because they are cheap to maintain, fast reproducing, and not many people complain about their use, not because they're the best animal model out there), and
had the rats basically drowning in the stuff.
Search PubMed for high sugar consumption and cancer. You will pull back multitudes of studies correlating high consumption of sugar and sugary foods to cancers of various types in actual humans. However, those studies have about as much value to determine that sugar causes cancer as the one you linked to for Splenda causing cancer.
In case I'm being too subtle about it, that would be about none. Correlation != causation.
Those types of studies are good for determining directions for future research and to justify running properly controlled studies to address those hypotheses. That's it. Don't read too much into them, and don't live your life by them.0 -
If it makes you feel any better, breakfast and lunch calories are planned around 2 cups of coffee 2T of sugar and 4 T of half and half, every day of the work week for me. Which is about 200 calories so thatt only leaves me 1100 for food all day.
I have tried giving up coffee to rid my self of the sugar but I don't know if its worth it you know.
I say increase your real sugar intake dump the splenda.0 -
In black tea, I use unsweetened almond milk. But if I need to actually sweeten something, I'm likely to use stevia or agave.
(I personally get what you're saying. I've always been okay with Splenda, but hearing more things about it, I've tried to cut it out more. Even though they're in these awesome ice pops that I love and I don't know if I can cut those out of my diet permanently, lol. People who can't really taste it are lucky.)0 -
I'm unaware of such rat studies. Links to peer reviewed research in high impact journals would be awesome.0
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i struggled w this too. am a HUGE coffee drinker. and have been drinking coffee everyday of my life since middle school. I usually used sweeten creamer. but that started to make me nauseous. so for the past 2 yrs i drank it w half n half and sugar. i wanted to cut back on my sugar intake. so I stopped adding the sugar completely. started by adding less teaspoons. now i drink it w half n half and my taste buds got used to it. occasionally ill add sugar .0
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I'm unaware of such rat studies. Links to peer reviewed research in high impact journals would be awesome.
I'm not sure specifically about splenda, but aren't there a few about aspartame? I thought splenda was sucralose, not aspartame?0 -
Stevia & 1% Horizon chocolate milk instead of creamers.0
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I have to say, I think you are giving to much power over your daily coffee. Either do or do not use sweetener, its relatively minor.
I stopped using sugar or splenda or milk or cream and went black. (except on weekends when I have splenda at home). I have way more important things in life to fret over. Good luck!
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I never sweetened my coffee. Some unsweetened almond milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon make it perfect.
However, if you really need it sweet, go with the sugar over splenda. In addition to the side effects you've experienced and those you are concerned about, artificial sweeteners trick your body because your brain thinks they are sugar and will provide calories; since there are no calories, you will crave more sugar later. 2 teaspoons of sugar is only 30 calories, but see if you can cut it down to 1 teaspoon with some vanilla extract, cinnamon, or other flavorings.
Also, I get fruity teas from Teavana and they're sweet enough without added sugar!0 -
I actually used to be addicted to sugar, but I weaned myself off of it, and now I really don't crave it as much! But when I need something sweet in my beverage (coffee or tea), I go for the following:
- maple syrup
- honey
- agave (rarely - I'm much more inclined to go for the maple syrup or honey)
I recently bought some coffee syrups that are made with agave, and come in vanilla and hazelnut flavors. Really tasty!
I try to be as natural as possible, so I NEVER use Splenda or any of the other chemical sweeteners.0 -
You know maple syrup, honey, and agave nectar are all types of sugar solution, right? And that all foods can be expressed by their chemical composition?I actually used to be addicted to sugar, but I weaned myself off of it, and now I really don't crave it as much! But when I need something sweet in my beverage (coffee or tea), I go for the following:
- maple syrup
- honey
- agave (rarely - I'm much more inclined to go for the maple syrup or honey)
I recently bought some coffee syrups that are made with agave, and come in vanilla and hazelnut flavors. Really tasty!
I try to be as natural as possible, so I NEVER use Splenda or any of the other chemical sweeteners.0 -
When I started making good quality coffee, freshly ground, I found that I didn't need sweeteners to enjoy it. Well worth the extra expense to get those calories back!
Just a thought.0 -
You know maple syrup, honey, and agave nectar are all types of sugar solution, right? And that all foods can be expressed by their chemical composition?I actually used to be addicted to sugar, but I weaned myself off of it, and now I really don't crave it as much! But when I need something sweet in my beverage (coffee or tea), I go for the following:
- maple syrup
- honey
- agave (rarely - I'm much more inclined to go for the maple syrup or honey)
I recently bought some coffee syrups that are made with agave, and come in vanilla and hazelnut flavors. Really tasty!
I try to be as natural as possible, so I NEVER use Splenda or any of the other chemical sweeteners.
Yes, I wasn't denying that these things aren't sugar? I was just saying I prefer sugars in their natural state. That's why I even limit agave, because it's highly processed as well. There are nutrients in maple syrup and honey. Honey is antibacterial as well, and honey that is even thousands of years old is still edible. How incredible is that, a food that does not break down? I choose to nourish my body with sugars that actually provide nutrition - not just sweetness.0 -
I am a big fan of Stevia. Its a great alternative and comes from a plant so it gives me a better piece of mind0
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Funny how the (false) rumors about how Twinkies never break down was never seen as a strong selling point for them among the health-conscious, and yet honey's durability is. Honey's processed too, incidentally; it's just primarily processed by something other than humans.
You know maple syrup, honey, and agave nectar are all types of sugar solution, right? And that all foods can be expressed by their chemical composition?I actually used to be addicted to sugar, but I weaned myself off of it, and now I really don't crave it as much! But when I need something sweet in my beverage (coffee or tea), I go for the following:
- maple syrup
- honey
- agave (rarely - I'm much more inclined to go for the maple syrup or honey)
I recently bought some coffee syrups that are made with agave, and come in vanilla and hazelnut flavors. Really tasty!
I try to be as natural as possible, so I NEVER use Splenda or any of the other chemical sweeteners.
Yes, I wasn't denying that these things aren't sugar? I was just saying I prefer sugars in their natural state. That's why I even limit agave, because it's highly processed as well. There are nutrients in maple syrup and honey. Honey is antibacterial as well, and honey that is even thousands of years old is still edible. How incredible is that, a food that does not break down? I choose to nourish my body with sugars that actually provide nutrition - not just sweetness.0 -
I had a similar problem when I started logging regularly. I like coffee with my sugar. I used to drink coffee all morning (3-4 cups), the I cut my intake to one cup on workdays with a tbsp sugar and soymilk creamer. I started drinking tea to replace my lost cups of coffee. I discovered I like my green or herbal tea strong and black, which is convenient. As long as you're staying within your calorie limit and getting all your nutrients, I don't see a problem with using sugar. 0
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I used to drink quite a bit of coffee and loved it with cream and sugar, but when I became pregnant last year I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It was a HUGE adjustment, but like the other posters I weaned myself. I switched to Stevia in the meantime but I was concerned with using artificial sweeteners during pregnancy so I weaned completely in about a week. Now that I've had my daughter, I find I only need about a teaspoon of sugar in a large cup of coffee if I want it sweet at all, and I won't use artificial sweeteners. Some days it's just nice to have a little splash of half and half and nothing more.0
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Have you tried Stevia? It's a low calorie sweetener but it's 100% natural, made from a plant and is soooo sweet just like a normal sweetener and 100% okay for your body 0
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I'm unaware of such rat studies. Links to peer reviewed research in high impact journals would be awesome.
This is where you'd have a problem. Generally speaking, these kinds of studies don't make it into any journal that would remotely be called high impact. To be fair, a lot of well-designed and well-thought-out studies don't either because the findings do not make a broad enough impact in their field (in the opinion of the editors) to be accepted. This is not to say that the studies we're talking about are well-thought-out or well-designed.0 -
I was also addicted to sweetness/sugar (my poison of choice was coca cola) and like so many others who have responded I weaned myself from it and was successful. Before that I had tried going "cold turkey" but caved in after a few days and went right back to drinking the same amount of sweet drinks. It really is like an addiction with the cravings, etc. I like my hot tea sweetened so I do add a little honey to it to add just a hint of sweetness. As for the artificial versus natural sweeteners, I would recommend you avoid the artificial ones like they're the plague! There have been a number of studies that have shown that people who use artificial sweeteners weigh more that those who use natural sugars so if you must have sweetness just use some kind of natural sugar even if there are calories. There are a number of plant based sweeteners out there that you can use. Stevia is super sweet so a very little bit will go a very long way and is low calorie. There's also a product called Just Like Sugar (it's made from chickory) that I think tastes better than Stevia. Bottom line recommendations...wean from the sugar for overall success and use any of the natural sugars over the artificial ones.0
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I have to say, I think you are giving to much power over your daily coffee. Either do or do not use sweetener, its relatively minor.
I stopped using sugar or splenda or milk or cream and went black. (except on weekends when I have splenda at home). I have way more important things in life to fret over. Good luck!
Lol woa killer "I have way more important things in life to fret over. Good luck!" - A lttle rude don't ya think?0 -
Have you tried Stevia? It's a low calorie sweetener but it's 100% natural, made from a plant and is soooo sweet just like a normal sweetener and 100% okay for your body
I have. I hate the after taste -_-0 -
I used to use a teaspoon of sugar and a bunch of sweetened cream in my coffee but I have eliminated the sugar and now just use the creamer. I can't quite drink it black yet ...0
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I use liquid Stevia and I don't find it has an aftertaste. I also find that you don't need much as it is much sweeter than sweetener and sugar.0
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yes honey is a lot of calories too. I gave up all sugars- real, fake and honey- and I feel much better. I do still have 2 teaspoons of brown sugar on my oatmeal on the weekends but that is IT0
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you could try stevia or truvia if your looking for a low calorie alternative to sugar...oh I just read you did and didn't like it. I would just cut back your sugar intake then. I drink coffee and tea black myself.0
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No answers for you as I am totally and 100% addicted to Splenda. I would not know what to do without it!0
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Funny how the (false) rumors about how Twinkies never break down was never seen as a strong selling point for them among the health-conscious, and yet honey's durability is. Honey's processed too, incidentally; it's just primarily processed by something other than humans.
You know maple syrup, honey, and agave nectar are all types of sugar solution, right? And that all foods can be expressed by their chemical composition?I actually used to be addicted to sugar, but I weaned myself off of it, and now I really don't crave it as much! But when I need something sweet in my beverage (coffee or tea), I go for the following:
- maple syrup
- honey
- agave (rarely - I'm much more inclined to go for the maple syrup or honey)
I recently bought some coffee syrups that are made with agave, and come in vanilla and hazelnut flavors. Really tasty!
I try to be as natural as possible, so I NEVER use Splenda or any of the other chemical sweeteners.
Yes, I wasn't denying that these things aren't sugar? I was just saying I prefer sugars in their natural state. That's why I even limit agave, because it's highly processed as well. There are nutrients in maple syrup and honey. Honey is antibacterial as well, and honey that is even thousands of years old is still edible. How incredible is that, a food that does not break down? I choose to nourish my body with sugars that actually provide nutrition - not just sweetness.
Not "funny" or odd at all: honey's 'durability' is due to basic physical lack of enough moisture for microbes to process and actually causes water to be pulled out of them, while twinkie's "never breaking down" partial truth is due to preservatives designed to kill/metabolically interfere with microbes. Maybe this example will explain it: there is a big difference in keeping pool pond scum free in the winter by emptying it of water (honey) or filling it with chlorine and bromine (twinkies).0
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